Page 75 of One More Kiss

Grateful for the quiet, I relished the short silence, but as we drove, my hands tightened in my lap as we headed out of Drayton Springs and the climb up the mountain started. It was stupid to be nervous. There was no one here anymore with any expectations of me. My parents were gone, and now so was my great aunt. Any school friends I had when I was here had moved on with their life, as had I. I hadn’t kept in touch with anyone, and I was genuinely surprised when Milly contacted me.

It was slightly surreal having her here, talking to me like we had just been apart for the summer, not five summers.

“Donna upgraded the heating in the house last winter,” Milly told me casually. “Not that you’ll need it in summer, but it’s a good system.”

“Um, okay.”

“The windows, well, they need looked at,” she added as she drove the winding road. “I told Donna, no point in putting in the heat if the windows are going to let it all out. But she didn’t listen to me.”

Milly told me very early on in our reunion that she was a realtor. She had not appreciated my joke when I asked her what else she did for work. But Drayton had a population of three thousand if it was lucky—how many people were moving in and out? There was a high school, elementary school, a hospital, and a library. It was hardly a metropolis.

“And I hope when you’re here, you’ll take the time to sort the backyard out. I told Donna, it looks like a rodeo graveyard, but she doesn’t listen to me.”

“Didn’t.”

“What’s that?” Milly asked as she frowned at my correction.

“She didn’t listen to you,” I explained. “You said doesn’t, present tense. My aunt is no longer present.”

“Oh.” She shifted in her seat slightly. “It’s so easy to forget I won’t see her again.” Milly sniffed again, and I fought the eye roll. It may have been five years since I saw her last, but her penchant for amateur dramatics hadn’t improved.

We rode the rest of the way in silence, and then we were being rocked from side to side in her truck as we rode over the rough road that led to the house. Seeing the ranch against the backdrop of the mountain stirred mixed feelings within me.

Dread.

Sadness.

Nostalgia.

Longing.

It was the latter that I fixated on. What was I longing for? The city? No, even I wasn’t that callous. The old place looked good. Familiar. My chest felt tight as we approached, and if Milly said anything to me, I never heard her over the drumming in my ears.

Getting out of the truck, I walked towards the front porch, my feet on autopilot, expecting the door to be opened and Aunt Donna to be waiting for me. Or, if I was honest, my mom. I could see her so clearly even after all these years, waiting for me to come home from school. Smiling at me as I ran eagerly towards her, the promise of a hug and cookies urging me on.

It had been a long time since my mom had stood in this doorway, and as I pushed the handle down on the door to enter, I was surprised when the door didn’t open.

“Wait, I have the key,” Milly called from behind me.

My reply was croaky, and I cleared my throat. “Of course,” I answered her finally. Turning, I saw she already had my luggage, and I hurried back down the steps to help her. “Sorry, I think my feet went on autopilot there.”

As I took the bag off her, she smiled at me and patted me on the arm. “It’s been a while for you,” she said with an understanding I didn’t expect from her, and I once again chastised myself for being so quick to judge.

“I didn’t realise I’d missed it so much,” I admitted as we walked into the house together.

“You grew up here,” she reminded me. “So many memories here.” Milly looked around fondly. “It’ll be sad to see this one go,” she added as she passed me the key and closed the door.

“Go?” I asked her as she walked past me, and I followed her into my old home.

“Well, when we put it up for sale,” she told me with a laugh. “I have a web developer, and I have a website now,” she said as she smoothed her hands over her slacks. “Milly Moves You.”

What the…?

“Milly moves you?” I repeated slowly.

“Yes.” She nodded emphatically.

“But you sell the houses, right?” I placed my bag at the foot of the stairs as I watched her.

---